“I’m feeling very confident. It’s been a long, hard two-and-a-half year campaign, passions have been aroused on both sides, and understandably so because we are talking about the biggest single decision that any of us will ever take in our lifetime. But I’m increasingly confident that we will win tonight.”

His confidence may be related to the final poll of the campaign, released today by Ipsos MORI, which shows No in the lead by 53-47. That’s still within the margin of error, though.

Meanwhile, discontent among English MPs over the offer made earlier in the week by the three party leaders continues to rumble, foreshadowing potential trouble tomorrow. Claire Perry became the first minister to speak out against the deal, criticising “goodies” and “party bags” offered to Scotland at the expense of taxpayers elsewhere. Writing for her local paper, she said:

‘…there will be a whole raft of goodies on offer for Scotland that will be paid for by us south of the border to try and appease the ‘yes’ voters…

…a proposal to allow devolution of local taxation, as well maintaining the current level of funding as a dollop from the UK parliament…can hardly be equitable for those of us in the Devizes Constituency and all other areas in the non-Scottish union.

Cool, calm analysis, not promises of financial party bags to appease Mr Salmond are what is needed from tomorrow…’